New route: Chetumal to Palenque direct both ways
Visiting the Yucatan Peninsula South just got easier.
While digging around in the schedules this week I discovered that there has been some changes with the Palenque - Chetumal route that will make traveling between those cities much easier in the near future. Keep in mind that the schedule can change at any point so consider this information relevant for now.
You can now travel from Chetumal to Palenque without a layover or an overnight stay in less than desirable cities such as Escárcega. Sorry Escárcega.
The Schedule
The train heads south from Cancun Airport at 9:00 am (Tulum Airport at 11:06 am) and arrives Bacalar at 1:36 pm or Chetumal at 2:15 pm.
If you overnight in Bacalar you will need to take a taxi or ADO bus to the Chetumal Airport station early in the morning (ADO bus Bacalar to Chetumal ADO station - 6:00 am to 6:50 am, 120 mxn then 8 min taxi).
Leaving Chetumal Airport station, the train heads west at 8:15 am and goes direct to Escárcega and then turns south to Palenque arriving at 2:07 pm. This schedule is just about perfect because you can have an early breakfast in Chetumal and arrive just in time to check into a hotel in Palenque.
Chetumal Airport 8:15 am → Palenque 2:07 pm (train #701)
The return trip from Palenque to Chetumal Airport isn’t quite as nice but still very convenient. The train leaves Palenque at 2:20 pm which would give you time to check out of your hotel and have a long lunch before boarding the train. It goes north to Escárcega and turns east headed to Chetumal Airport arriving at 8:12 pm late enough to go directly to your hotel and check in.
Palenque 2:20 pm → Chetumal Airport 8:12 pm (train #702)
This train does not get in early enough to catch a northbound train up the coast as it arrives 4 hours after the northbound train has left thus it requires an overnight in Chetumal or you could take a 38 minute taxi ride to Bacalar and overnight there. To get to Bacalar take a 38 minute taxi from Chetumal Airport to Bacalar or an 8 minute taxi from Chetumal Airport to the Chetumal ADO bus station followed by an ADO bus at 11:30 pm arriving Bacalar at just past midnight for 120 pesos if you’re on a budget.
After an overnight in either Chetumal or Bacalar it’s a straight shot back up the coast to Tulum, Playa del Carmen or Cancun on the 4:30 pm train (or Bacalar at 5:09 pm) direct to Tulum (3 hrs 30 min), Playa del Carmen (4 hrs 24 min) and Cancun (5 hrs 15 min).
Intermediate Stops
If you want to stop in the middle somewhere, the Chetumal Airport - Palenque train runs once per day so whatever time you get off is the time you get back on the next day.
For example if you’re going from Chetumal Airport to Palenque and you want to get off at Calakmul you would deboard the train at 9:42 am. If you dropped your bags at a hotel and took a shuttle to the runs you’d have plenty of time to get back to get a good nights sleep and the following day you’d catch the westbound train at exactly the same time.
If you want to stop at Calakmul (recommended) on your way back from Palenque you’d deboard the train about 6:45 pm and the next day leave your bags at your hotel while visiting the ruins and then get back on at exactly the same time.
The situation is a bit easier going north from Chetumal Airport to Cancun. There is only one train per day leaving Chetumal Airport but from Tulum on there are two trains giving you a bit more choice but to be honest neither are currently very convenient as they both transit in the evening. As a side note the earlier train leaving Tulum at 6:16 pm (#302) will take you all the way to Merida if you’d like to include that portion of the peninsula in your travels.
